How SMS messages can help change behavior?

Mobile technologies and Internet significantly changed the way people communicate around the world.

Many communities in developing countries don’t yet have access to computers and the internet however according to the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) an estimated 2.2 billion mobile phone users lived in developing countries by end 2008 – 64% of the global market.

Estimates show that by 2012, half of all individuals in remote areas of the world, who often do not have access to clean running water, electricity or the Internet, will have mobile phones.

Through mobile technology, the millions of people in developing countries who had been left behind by the digital divide are now able to access health information and healthcare services at their fingertips.

SMS now offer a cost-effective, and efficient method of disseminating health messages in developing countries. According to the UN Foundation report mHealth for Development: The Opportunity of Mobile Technology for Healthcare in the Developing World, formal studies and anecdotal evidence demonstrate that SMS alerts have a greater impact in influencing behaviour than radio and television campaigns.

Share your opinion on how we can apply those ideas in Haiti?

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